2016 Macbook Pro Issue - High Pitched Keyboard Clicking Sound

[renzska]

I'm on machine number 4. I've had manufacture dates of 2016-11-14, 2017-01-09 (two of them) and my latest is 2016-12-26. The last two have shown the keyboard sticky high pitched sounding keys, the first had the command key an up/down arrows not registering randomly and in the far corners, and the second one had the trackpad and keyboard just stop working after 4 days.

I'm going to give this one two weeks to see if the key sounds improve over time. I've bought over $300 in peripherals, so the return option is a lot harder choice than trying to get one that works right, but as the time involved in this increases, I may just have to cut my losses and assume I'll use the peripherals on future devices.

 

[duke.fleed]

experienced similar issues (one "sticky" key and one key repeating the letter twice), my MBP is under support since 3 weeks ago.. according to them, keyboard was replaced twice. They're waiting for the third one, and eventually replace the whole laptop if that doesn't work.
What a mess for a 4K$ machine... first disappointing Apple product after 10 years of satisfaction.

Ok... 3rd replacement component was also faulty... Waiting for a 4th, they refuse to send me a new laptop.
My MacBook has been one month in my hands and another one in support's hands... that's ridiculous

 

[achal1012]

Apple has finally recognized this issue and customer support specialist told me that their engineers are working on a fix, and till then they sent me Magic Keyboard and Mouse to work with.

 

[ilifecomputer]

Apple has finally recognized this issue and customer support specialist told me that their engineers are working on a fix, and till then they sent me Magic Keyboard and Mouse to work with.

hmmm i wonder what the fix will entail. Mine sounds a little different on some keys but for now its just a sound thing (no double registers yet - fingers crossed)

 

[MrGuder]

All they need is one more new media outlet to broadcast this like Consumer Reports did and Apple will undoubtedly work quicker for that "fix". That's one thing Apple does not like and that's bad press news.

 

[ilifecomputer]

dont we have these what a mess threads for every single launch tho?

even incremental revisions seem to get a ton of people on these forums talking about how the headphone jack is producing a slight hiss that interacts poorly with weather patterns very frequently observed in the southern hemisphere and how outrageous it is. then we all go back and forth where some people defend the people with the issue since they spent so much, then the hippies are like its only a computer, dude. etc...

 

[sekoitus]

It seems I literally have the worst luck with Apple products, always.

Owned several laptops and iPhones over the years. iPhones have been trouble free but with the laptops it seems I never get a flawless machine on first try.

Same happens here...

n and v keys are having the issue described in this thread. v is worse; it has the clicking sound even when the machine is cool.

How the **** can such a simple feature as a keyboard be a problem for Apple to manufacture properly.

I wouldn't be so pissed if these things weren't so ungodly expensive. Paying top penny, you expect high quality.

And off to replace I go, just praying the next one doesn't have this, or some other issue... If it does, I won't be wasting time with this ****, and rather look elsewhere (which is hard of course, being so accustomed to macOS... the thought of having to go to Windows is akin to having to cut my wrists...)

 

[Theophil1971]

Today I ate a tangerine while using my 2016 TB MacBook Pro. Here's why that matters to this thread...

While peeling a section of tangerine away to eat, a few very small droplets of juice squirted out onto my keyboard, landing near the left-CMD key. I quickly wiped them off - no problem. Except that, after a few minutes, that left-CMD started making this high-pitched clicking noise that I've read about and seen in videos on threads like this one. In this particular case, at least, it was because something sticky had gotten down into the mechanism beneath the key, and was causing it to hang up just a little bit before POPping back up noisily.

It was driving me nuts while I typed. So here's what I did. I powered down the laptop and let it cool. I held down the sticky key, and sprayed a small amount of iKlear onto it at very close range. Then I pressed the key up and down rapidly for several seconds, to the iKlear down into the mechanism, and worked around. I did this several times. It didn't take long before the key was working like normal again. Several hours later, it is still working just fine.

Of course - do this at your own risk, as it does involve spraying a liquid into your keyboard to try and dissolve any sticky substance that may be affecting your keys. I'm positive Apple would discourage this... and maybe for good reason. But I threw caution to the wind and did it, without causing any damage. There are special non-conductive electronics cleaners that are safer than iKlear, and made for this very purpose. That's probably a safer bet, if you have access to it. Just make sure they're also safe for plastics. Go sparingly... don't use too much, and wipe the excess away immediately. Let it dry thoroughly before powering back on.

Hope this might help some.

 

[MrGuder]

Today I ate a tangerine while using my 2016 TB MacBook Pro. Here's why that matters to this thread...

While peeling a section of tangerine away to eat, a few very small droplets of juice squirted out onto my keyboard, landing near the left-CMD key. I quickly wiped them off - no problem. Except that, after a few minutes, that left-CMD started making this high-pitched clicking noise that I've read about and seen in videos on threads like this one. In this particular case, at least, it was because something sticky had gotten down into the mechanism beneath the key, and was causing it to hang up just a little bit before POPping back up noisily.

It was driving me nuts while I typed. So here's what I did. I powered down the laptop and let it cool. I held down the sticky key, and sprayed a small amount of iKlear onto it at very close range. Then I pressed the key up and down rapidly for several seconds, to the iKlear down into the mechanism, and worked around. I did this several times. It didn't take long before the key was working like normal again. Several hours later, it is still working just fine.

Of course - do this at your own risk, as it does involve spraying a liquid into your keyboard to try and dissolve any sticky substance that may be affecting your keys. I'm positive Apple would discourage this... and maybe for good reason. But I threw caution to the wind and did it, without causing any damage. There are special non-conductive electronics cleaners that are safer than iKlear, and made for this very purpose. That's probably a safer bet, if you have access to it. Just make sure they're also safe for plastics. Go sparingly... don't use too much, and wipe the excess away immediately. Let it dry thoroughly before powering back on.

Hope this might help some.

Interesting find and somewhat solution. I wonder if compressed air would help as well. If this is the case of why some keys are sticking and creating popping noise then how is Apple to prevent things like this from getting under the keys, how it is it their fault and how would they design it differently so as not to happen if dust or small debris gets under certain keys?

 

[Theophil1971]

Interesting find and somewhat solution. I wonder if compressed air would help as well. If this is the case of why some keys are sticking and creating popping noise then how is Apple to prevent things like this from getting under the keys, how it is it their fault and how would they design it differently so as not to happen if dust or small debris gets under certain keys?

Ya. The tangerine juice under my CMD key was definitely not Apple's fault...

Some people seem to be experiencing sticking/popping keys upon delivery, though. I wonder if that's really the case, or if something stick from their hands or something got down in the gaps without their knowing. Or perhaps something from the manufacturing/boxing/shipping process?

At any rate - it does seem that cleaning may be helpful to some degree in at least some of the cases.

 

[Sanpete]

Ya. The tangerine juice under my CMD key was definitely not Apple's fault...

Some people seem to be experiencing sticking/popping keys upon delivery, though. I wonder if that's really the case, or if something stick from their hands or something got down in the gaps without their knowing. Or perhaps something from the manufacturing/boxing/shipping process?

At any rate - it does seem that cleaning may be helpful to some degree in at least some of the cases.

There was a report earlier of a repair done at an Apple Store that consisted of removing some excess of glue underneath a key, something that might be caused by heat deforming the glue.

 

[LegolasWang]

Replacement 15 maxed out. Manufactured Feb-8.

Caps Lock ,E, F sticky out of box. Even worse under load, multiple other keys are sticky as well. Up button couldn't register itself correctly. Have to press multiple times to make it start working

 

[Theophil1971]

There was a report earlier of a repair done at an Apple Store that consisted of removing some excess of glue underneath a key, something that might be caused by heat deforming the glue.

Replacement 15 maxed out. Manufactured Feb-8.

Caps Lock ,E, F sticky out of box. Even worse under load, multiple other keys are sticky as well. Up button couldn't register itself correctly. Have to press multiple times to make it start working

Interesting. Mine worked perfectly out of the box, until I did something to gum up a key.
Seems like there may be some glue/heat issues contributing to some cases of sticky keys.
Hopefully Apple can tighten up their QC, and develop a quick and easy cleaning fix for people who have this problem out of the box.

 

[Hrodriguez77]

Replacement 15 maxed out. Manufactured Feb-8.

Caps Lock ,E, F sticky out of box. Even worse under load, multiple other keys are sticky as well. Up button couldn't register itself correctly. Have to press multiple times to make it start working

I'm a long time lurker on this site waiting for Apple to fix these QC issues so I can purchase the new MacBook Pro. The fact that 3 months after release they are still having these kinds of out of box problems is frustrating. I just want to give them my money already, but they keep giving me reasons not to. I hope that when you exchange it you will have better luck with the replacement. I think I'll keep waiting until they release new batches that are relatively problem-free, or wait for Kaby Lake.

 

[Theophil1971]

I'm a long time lurker on this site waiting for Apple to fix these QC issues so I can purchase the new MacBook Pro. The fact that 3 months after release they are still having these kinds of out of box problems is frustrating. I just want to give them my money already, but they keep giving me reasons not to. I hope that when you exchange it you will have better luck with the replacement. I think I'll keep waiting until they release new batches that are relatively problem-free, or wait for Kaby Lake.

To be fair, even though these are real issues that real people are really facing - it is true that these forums are kind of like the ER at the hospital. The place everyone who has a big problem goes; and so the place where you're going to see mostly problems.
The people who don't have problems with their Macs are, I believe, the great majority of users who are not in the ER looking for help. They're quietly and happily using their computers.
Mine came out of the box flawless, as have every Apple product I've owned (and that's a lot...) I've never yet pulled a lemon.
So, I think there's a greater chance of you getting a great machine than a flawed one, and that you should just go for it.
Just IMHO...

 

[Hrodriguez77]

To be fair, even though these are real issues that real people are really facing - it is true that these forums are kind of like the ER at the hospital. The place everyone who has a big problem goes; and so the place where you're going to see mostly problems.
The people who don't have problems with their Macs are, I believe, the great majority of users who are not in the ER looking for help. They're quietly and happily using their computers.
Mine came out of the box flawless, as have every Apple product I've owned (and that's a lot...) I've never yet pulled a lemon.
So, I think there's a greater chance of you getting a great machine than a flawed one, and that you should just go for it.
Just IMHO...

That does make me feel a little better about making a purchase soon, most likely mid march.

 

[TripleMoxy]

To be fair, even though these are real issues that real people are really facing - it is true that these forums are kind of like the ER at the hospital. The place everyone who has a big problem goes; and so the place where you're going to see mostly problems.
The people who don't have problems with their Macs are, I believe, the great majority of users who are not in the ER looking for help. They're quietly and happily using their computers.
Mine came out of the box flawless, as have every Apple product I've owned (and that's a lot...) I've never yet pulled a lemon.
So, I think there's a greater chance of you getting a great machine than a flawed one, and that you should just go for it.
Just IMHO...

I would normally agree with you about forums, but I have had two replacements with the same issue. Others have had even more. So I would say that statistically it would seem to be a widespread problem.

I have wondered why more people haven't experienced it. But it is possible that because some machines only exhibit that fault when they get quite warm that there are many users who aren't triggering the behaviour with the way they use their machines.

Anyway, who knows, I could just be one of the many unlucky people on this thread.

For now, I'm still holding off re-purchasing until I'm confident that they've dealt with the issue.

 

[Sanpete]

I would normally agree with you about forums, but I have had two replacements with the same issue. Others have had even more. So I would say that statistically it would seem to be a widespread problem.

Compare the number who have had the issue with the number who own the machines and have posted at the forum for an idea of how common it is. (It will still be biased toward complaints, as those with issues are led here by Google.)

I agree that if it's heat related many people may not have met the conditions to have the problem.

 

[TripleMoxy]

Compare the number who have had the issue with the number who own the machines and have posted at the forum for an idea of how common it is. (It will still be biased toward complaints, as those with issues are led here by Google.)

I agree that if it's heat related many people may not have met the conditions to have the problem.

I do agree that people are more likely to complain in a forum and that it's hard to judge how common a problem is from reading a single thread.

However, receiving a number of deffective replacements, one after the other, makes me suspect that the problem is quite common. The probability of receiving a machine with at least one squeaking key would be quite low if only a small proportion of the stock at the time of ordering was affected. The probability of receiving a few in a row would be even lower. That's my reasoning anyway, but I'm willing to listen to any opposing views

 

[Sanpete]

I do agree that people are more likely to complain in a forum and that it's hard to judge how common a problem is from reading a single thread.

However, receiving a number of deffective replacements, one after the other, makes me suspect that the problem is quite common. The probability of receiving a machine with at least one squeaking key would be quite low if only a small proportion of the stock at the time of ordering was affected. The probability of receiving a few in a row would be even lower. That's my reasoning anyway, but I'm willing to listen to any opposing views

One person reported getting 13 in a row. An alternative explanation is that some sources got bad batches.

 

[Dubadai]

I got the same issue on mine. Bought it on Friday, and then got home, realised that when it got warm I had around 10 keys that got this issue. Oddly enough they were all on the left side of the computer. Vertical imaginary border by the Y/H-buttons, and to the left...

Either way, went back to the store and got a brand new one directly over the counter. Came home, same issue, but now its "only" 4 and 6 that are clicky.

Really need the computer the next coming weeks, so might keep it to see if it goes away. Otherwise I'll send it in on warranty. Since it was bought in the store and opened I can't return it like if I'd bought it over the internet (law here in Sweden that all things bought on the web must be able to be returned within 14 days, even if the customer has opened and inspected/tried the product).

TL;DR: Got this issue on the first and second one from Apple. Went from 10 keys to 2 keys between the two.

Unrelated, is there a better way to heat up the Mac than to run Chrome with 3 tabs of YouTube 4K videos, which I've found to be very effective. On Windows there are 10000 different benchmark programs, but have yet to find a simple program which only purpose is to bench and heat the machine up...
[doublepost=1488132908][/doublepost]

Apple has finally recognized this issue and customer support specialist told me that their engineers are working on a fix, and till then they sent me Magic Keyboard and Mouse to work with.

Do you have any more details than that they now see it as an "official issue"? The guy I spoke to at Apple had no idea of this issue...

 

[ilifecomputer]

OK I mentioned last week that I would chime back in with my keyboards examination. Yup I have high pitched sounds on several keys more so on the right of the keyboard. Looking forward to see how this develops. click click click

 

[Dubadai]

I got my 3rd MacBook Pro now, no issues at all. My only gripe now is that the Enter button is a little loud. Nothing wrong with it, just a little loud, none of that clicking noises though on any of the keys!

Fingers crossed. Otherwise its going straight back to Apple. Fantastic support at my local Apple Authorised Dealer -Digital Inn (here in Sweden)...



Aaaaaand now while typing the "9" started clicking... Great...
[doublepost=1488198594][/doublepost]Got my fourth replacement MacBook with me on my way back to work now. Going to work on for the rest of the day and then see what happens.

Right now I just want a fully working machine...

 

[soolwan]

My first machine was the mid-level retail model which I discovered had a sticky T key. I found out a little late because when I use the machine under load I almost always have a Bluetooth keyboard attached.

So I was outside my 14-day return period but the Apple Store made an exception considering my story about this being a known issue, my work needs, etc.

With the first exchange I was told if the new one still had the issue it would need to go for repair. I brought it home and it has the same issue except on even more keys (T,R,S,enter). Called the manager and he agreed to let me bring it back.

On the second exchange I tested it in the store and after getting it warmed up several keys have the issue including the number row, apostrophe, and X. I demonstrated that to the manager and he's like I've done all I can and the next step is to send for repair. I declined because I have to line up a temporary replacement for work before I can send it off. So I brought that one home.

I tried to make the point that I had just shown that two new machines taken from the store on the same day have this issue, and if anything I did a service by keeping those machines out of customers' hands, and basically I absorb the frustration. Yet here I am with a wasted day and a machine that is much worse than the one I brought in in the morning.

This ordeal is challenging to say the least. Guess I have no other option other than to send it in, even though other commenters have had poor results with that path.

I wonder if Colorado just got a really large inventory of bad machines.

 

[Dubadai]

4th replacement here now. Waaaay worse than the one I had this morning. On this one the following buttons are sticky when warm: 4, 5, 6, 7, TAB, SHIFT, ? (sometimes), A, Z, X, B, N, M, and the period button.

So back I go this afternoon for another replacement. I really don't know what to say anymore. Might switch it for a 2015 MacBook Pro if this continues... Sad because I REALLY Love this machine...